Fidelity Investments a annoncé le 19 septembre le lancement de cinq fonds indiciels à bas coûts qui viennent compléter sa gamme Spartan de fonds indiciels.Il s’agit de Spartan Emerging Markets Index Fund, Spartan Global ex U.S. Index Fund, Spartan Mid Cap Index Fund, Spartan Real Estate Index Fund et Spartan Small Cap Index Fund. Avec ces nouveaux produits, Fidelity propose désormais aux investisseurs 13 fonds indiciels actions et obligations dans toutes les principales catégories d’investissement, avec un en cours d’actifs sous gestion de plus de 80 milliards de dollars. Fidelity indique par ailleurs avoir ajouté des parts en actions institutionnelles low cost dans trois de ses fonds indiciels Spartan actuellement disponibles, Spartan Total Market Index Fund, Spartan Extended Market Index Fund et Spartan International Index Fund

La société de gestion française DNCA Finance vient d’inaugurer sa succursale italienne à Milan, Via Broletto. Cette ouverture, le 19 septembre, s’inscrit dans le cadre de la stratégie de la société de gestion française de se développer sur le marché italien, où elle distribue depuis 2008 les compartiments de sa sicav DNCA Invest, via des accords de distribution avec des réseaux de conseillers financiers et de banque privée, indique un communiqué diffusé en Italie.En fait, DNCA Finance avait déjà une équipe commerciale en Italie, mais qui occupait les locaux de son ancien actionnaire majoritaire, la banque d’affaires italienne Banca Leonardo. Avec la cession par cette dernière de la quasi-totalité de sa participation à TA Associates, l’ouverture d’une succursale devenait nécessaire. L’équipe italienne de DNCA se compose de deux personnes, placées sous la responsabilité d’Enrico Trassinelli, qui a travaillé par le passé pour Mellon Global Investments et ING.

La société de gestion genevoise Semper Gestion dispose dorénavant d’un bureau de représentation à Shanghaï, rapporte L’Agefi suisse. Ouverte au printemps, la structure est dirigée par Christine Ren, d’origine chinoise, qui possède vingt ans d’expérience bancaire, auprès d’ING et de Deutsche Bank notamment.Dirigée par Eric Freymond et Grégoire Vaucher, Semper Gestion investit depuis plus de quatre ans dans des sociétés chinoises actives notamment dans le textile, la machinerie lourde, les nouvelles technologies, l'éducation ou encore le développement durable.

Le fonds souverain de Singapour, qui est le principal actionnaire d’UBS avec 6,4 % du capital, a rompu son silence au sujet du scandale de la fraude de 2,4 milliards de dollars, critiquant des lacunes dans les contrôles de la banque, rapporte le Financial Times.A l’issue d’une rencontre avec Oswald Grübel, le directeur général d’UBS, le Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC) a déclaré qu’il avait «exprimé sa déception et son inquiétude concernant les lacunes et demandé à UBS de prendre des actions fermes pour restaurer la confiance dans la banque».

Le fonds phare de GAM, le GAM Star China Equity Fund, dont les actifs sous gestion s'élèvent à environ 1,5 milliard de livres, est à nouveau accessible aux candidats investisseurs, rapporte Investment Week. Lancé en juillet 2007, le fonds domicilié à Dublin avait été fermé aux nouveaux investisseurs en novembre dernier, ses encours ayant fait un bond à 1,4 milliard de dollars ou près de 900 millons de livres. Le fonds figure parmi les meilleurs de son secteur (Chine/grande Chine), avec une surperformance sur trois ans de 67% par rapport à ses pairs.

Brevan Howard, la deuxième société de hedge funds en Europe en termes d’encours avec 32 milliards de dollars, va rendre 2 milliards à ses clients afin de conserver son fonds en deçà des 25 milliards de dollars, rapporte le Financial Times. La société avait toujours promis aux investisseurs qu’elle limiterait la taille de ce fonds.

Le patron des actions européennes du britannique F&C, Paras Anand, va quitter la société dans les six mois à venir pour rejoindre Fidelity en qualité de responsable des actions paneuropéennes, selon Investment Week. Il assurera toutefois la gestion intérimaire du fonds European Assets de F&C.Fidelity a également recruté Richard Lewis, l’ancien co-responsable de New Star Institutional Managers. Ce dernier devrait prendre ses fonctions en novembre pour piloter les équipes de gestion des actions internationales et des actions émergentes internationales.

Quelques jours seulement après avoir annoncé le recrutement de Mark Harris (ex Henderson, voir notre article du 12 septembre), Eden Financial a indiqué le 20 septembre avoir accueilli un quatrième nouveau collaborateur, en l’occurrence une femme, Ky Van Tang, qui rejoint en tant que fixed interest/credit analyst après avoir assuré les mêmes fonctions chez Aberdeen Asset Management.Eden Financial avait déjà recruté début juillet Dan Roberts et Leigh Himsworth (ex Gartmore).Le pôle gestion d’actifs d’Eden Financial est dirigé depuis février par Ed Rosengarten (ex M&G).

La Banque cantonale de Bâle a nommé Dominik Galliker en tant que directeur Clientèle privée et Private Banking à compter du début du mois d’octobre, rapporte L’Agefi suisse. Cette direction unifiée du Private Banking doit permettre d’améliorer les processus dans la gestion de fortune et les placements, selon la banque. Dominik Galliker succède à Reto Erdin et il sera en outre membre de la direction de groupe.

Matrix Asset Management a nommé Rebecca Ledlie en qualité de responsable produits et marketing, avec l’objectif de mettre en oeuvre la stratégie de croissance de la société, rapporte HedgeWeek.Rebecca Ledlie, qui travaillait précédemment chez Gartmore en tant que responsable produits, a une connaissance approfondie de l’univers des hedge funds, qu’elle a notamment acquise chez son ancien employeur. Matrix a par ailleurs annoncé que le Candela Fund, auparavant géré par Olympus Capital LLP, revient dans le giron de Matrix, renommé le Matrix Pan-European Equity Fund, «nouvelle preuve de la volonté de la société de développer une gamme de hedge funds de première classe», selon Angus Woolhouse, CEO de Matrix AM. Matrix a par ailleurs indiqué avoir lancé un quatrième fonds sur sa plate-forme Ucits, le Cantab Quantitative Ucits Fund, un fonds global macro systématique qui tentera de répliquer la performance de sa contrepartie offshore, le CCP Quantitative Fund. Basée à Cambridge, Cantab affiche des actifs sous gestion de 1,7 milliard de dollars.

Avec l’Unifonds 2014-II, Unigest a fait enregistrer le 16 septembre par la CNMV un fonds garanti à trois ans.Jusqu’au 19 décembre 2011, ce produit sera investi en liquidités, en «repo» sur la dette publique espagnole, en obligations d’Etat et en obligations d’entreprises catégorie investissement (hors titrisations) de la zone OCDE, en titrisations sur obligations hypothécaires et en obligations garanties par le Trésor espagnol. L'échéance et la duration moyenne ne dépasseront pas les 3 mois et les titres avec une notation moyenne ne pourront dépasser 25 % de l’encours.Durant la période de garantie, le fonds pourra investir dans un portefeuille d’obligations d’entreprises et d’Etat de notation au moins moyenne., avec 70 % en titres d’Etat de la zone OCDE, 19,6 % en titrisation hypothécaires de même échéance que le fonds et 10,4 % en liquidités à vue. La garantie porte sur 106,49 % de la valeur liquidative au 19 décembre 2011, ce qui représente un taux de 3 %.Caractéristiques Dénomination : Unifond 2014-II FICode Isin : ES0181396005Echéance : 3 février 2014Droit d’entrée 5 % du 20 décembre 2011 au 3 février 2014Commission de gestion : 0,95 % jusqu'à jusqu’au 19 décembre 2011 ; 1,15 % ensuite Pénalité de rachat : 1 % entre le 20 décembre 2011 et le 3 février 2014Souscription minimale : 300 euros

ING Investment Management a lancé un fonds opportuniste dédié à la dette émergente qui sera cogéré par Rob Drijkoningen et la stratégiste quantitative Vera Kartseva, rapporte CitywireLe fonds Emerging Market Debt Opportunities propose aux investisseurs une exposition à l’ensemble des sous-classes d’actifs et des instruments de dette émergente. Selon Rob Drijkoningen, les investisseurs dans la dette émergente se limitent généralement à des expositions en devises dures, plus facilement accessibles, alors que l’univers de la dette émergente représente quelque 10.000 milliards de dollars, dont 85% est libellé en monnaie locale. Selon les données disponibles, les investissements dans la dette émergente s'élèvent à environ 450 milliards de dollars, dont les trois quarts en devises dures. En d’autres termes, 73% de cette allocation s’efforce de capter 6% tout juste de l’ensemble.

Société Générale Securities Services (SGSS) on 20 September announced that it has been granted a mandate by Deutsche Bank AG as sub-custodian for its own and its clients’ assets in Egypt, following an extended due diligence process. The migration of assets to SGSS was successfully completed on 11 September 2011. The SGSS custody platform in Egypt will provide Deutsche Bank with a range of services centred on custody, settlement and delivery. The platform benefits from the experience of the Société Générale group in the country, via its affiliate NSGB< which for over 30 years has been providing custody services to domestic clients. “The new mandate from an international client in Egypt is recognition of the expertise of SGSS in the region, and illustrates its continued engagement in North Africa. SGSS is already one of the major sub-custodians for international clients in Morocco,” SGSS says in a statement.

The Financial Times reports that the International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) will publish draft proposals early next year for new ETF regulations. The global regulatory authorities may circumbscribe the amount and quality of collateral which ETF providers are permitted to use. Funds may also be required to disclose more information about counterparties and techniques they use to match the indices which funds are meant to replicate.

According to statistics from the VÖIG association of asset management firms, assets in Austrian funds as of the end of August were down to EUR138.1bn, compared with EUR142.6bn as of the end of July.This total is EUR6.9bn, or 4.76% lower than the total as of the end of December (EUR145bn), which in turn was higher than the EUR136.7bn total as of the end of 2009 and EUR126bn as of the end of 2008. As of the end of 2007, assets under management totalled EUR163.7bn.However, assets had increased to EUR145.1bn as of February 2011.

The French financial market authorities, the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) and the Autorité de Contrôle Prudentiel (ACP) on 20 September published an update to their list of websites and entities which are not authorised to invest in the currency (forex) markets. On 7 July, the AMF and ACP issued a warning over such investment offers, and published an initial blacklist. The updated blacklist adds more websites and entities which have been more recently identified as parties that illegally offer such products in France. However, websites and entities which have complied with French law have been removed from the list, either because they have discontinued all activities on French soil, or because the investment offerings featured on their websites are now offered via intermediaries which are licensed to provide investment services in France. The updated list is as follows: - www.bforex.com / BFOREX Limited - www.gcitrading.com / GCI Financial Limited - www.nordfx.com/fr / Nord Group Investments Inc - www.fxcast.com / Surplus Finance SA - www.instaforex.com/ InstaForex Companies Group - www.finanzasforex.com / Evolution Market Group Inc - www.youtradefx.com / International Youtrade Investments MA Ltd - www.ikkotrader.com / Ikko Investments Ltd - www.trader369.com / IP International Service The AMF and ACP also point out the risks specific to retail forex products. The document may be viewed at http://www.amf-france.org/documents/general/10067_1.pdf.

According to the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, relaying reports in the Wall Street Journal, the SEC has launched a wide-ranging investigation into hedge funds and brokerage firms in relation to transactions preceding the lowering of the credit rating for the United States by S&P.The US regulator, assisted by FINRA, is seeking to identify exceptionally large bets that share prices would fall, made by actors who are not accustomed to make such investments. No firms have been named so far.

The index provider Dow Jones Indexes on 20 September announced the launch of eight new indices, a sign of the firm’s interest in Europe. The products are focused on dividends and real estate, and come as additions to the new European indices launched by the firm on 13 September (Dow Jones Europe Volatility Risk Control Indexes and Dow Jones Eurozone Volatility Risk Control Indexes), and two large caps indices launched on 20 June (Dow Jones Europe Titans 80 Index and Dow Jones Eurozone Titans 80 Index).The new products are as follows:• Dow Jones Europe Select Dividend 30 Index,• Dow Jones Eurozone Select Dividend 30 Index,• Dow Jones Europe Select Dividend 30 Distributing Index,• Dow Jones Eurozone Select Dividend 30 Distributing Index,• Dow Jones France Select Dividend 20 Distributing Index,• Dow Jones Germany Select Dividend 20 Distributing Index• Dow Jones Europe Developed Markets Select Real Estate Securities Index and. Dow Jones Europe Developed Markets Select REIT Index.

Under the title “Sombre month for hedge funds in August,” Edhic-Risk sums up the situation well, observing in its monthly newsletter that most strategies were negatively affected by the drop on the equities markets. Of the 13 categories of hedge funds regulatory monitored, only dedicated short bias, which made an average of 6.97%, and CTA Global, which gained 0.27%, had positive results.However, long/short equity and distressed securities made losses of 4.07% and 4.08%, respectively.Eight strategies out of 13 were in positive territory for the first eight months of the year, with dedicated short bias leading the pack at 5.2%, followed by fixed income arbitrage (+3.8%). Categories showing a loss for the year were led by emerging markets (-3.7%) and long/short equity (-3.2%).

The French management firm DNCA Finance has opened an Italian branch office in Milan, on Via Broletto. The new office, opened on 19 September, is part of the French asset management firm’s straegy to develop on the Italian market, where since 2008 it has offered sub-funds of its Sicav DNCA Invest, via distribution agreements with IFA and private banking networks, a statement released in Italy says. DNCA Finance already had a sales team in Italy, which was located at the offices of its former majority shareholder, the Italian business bank Banca Leonardo. With the sale of nearly all of the latter’s stake to TA Associates, the opening of a branch office became necessary. The Italian team at DNCA is composed of two people who report to Enrico Trassinelli, who previously worked at Mellon Global Investments and ING.

Only a few days after announcing the recruitment of Mark Harris (ex-Henderson, see Newsmangers of 12 September 2011), Eden Financial on 20 September announced that it has hired another team member, this time a woman. Ky Van Tang joins as a fixed interest/credit analyst after serving in the same role at Aberdeen Asset Management.In early July, Eden Financial had recruited Dan Robers and Leigh Himsworth (ex-Gartmore).The asset management unit at Eden Financial has been led by Ed Rosengarten (ex-M&G) since February.

Fidelity Investments on 19 September announced the launch of five low-cost tracker funds as additions to its Spartan range of index-based funds. The new products are the Spartan Emerging Markets Index Fund, Spartan Global ex U.S. Index Fund, Spartan Mid Cap Index Fund, Spartan Real Estate Index Fund and Spartan Small Cap Index Fund. With these new products, Fidelity is now offering investors 13 equity and bond tracker funds in all the major investment categories, with total assets under management of over USD80bn. Fidelity also announced that it has added low-cost institutional shares for three of its Spartan tracker funds which are currently available, the Spartan Total Market Index Fund, Spartan Extended Market Index Fund and Spartan International Index Fund.

Amundi Immobilier (EUR4.8bn in assets as of 30 June) has launched Opcimmo, a French-registered SPPICAV vehicle (variable capital investment firm investing preponderantly in real estate), which will be made available via the group’s various networks, with different ISIN codes for the PREM Opcimmo (regional banks of Crédit Agricole) and LCL Opcimmo.Amundi says the product is the first third-generation fund to be offered on the French market. The concept of the OPCImmo fund is to provide a product which is diversified, flexible (widely distributed), with low volatility, high liquidity, safe, and accessible (see Characteristics below). The fund is aimed at less high-end clients than existing products.The potential market for products of this type is estimated by Amundi AM at EUR2bn, and the group’s ambition, with the various share classes, is to conquer 25% of this niche per year.The OPCI fund may invest 70% to 90% of its portfolio in real estate assets, of which 51% to 60% are to be physical properties, and the remainder shares in publicly-traded realty firms (up to 14.7%) and underlying real estate bonds (up to 30%). A cash allocation, representing 10% to 30% of assets, makes up the remainder of the product.The fund, which was started up with seed capital of EUR30m, has already acquired a first 4,000 square metre office property in Paris, with initial returns of over 6%.CharacteristicsName(s) : Opcimmo/PREM Opcimmo/LCL OpcimmoISIN codes: FR0011066802 / FR0011063353 / FR0011066794 Maximal subscription commission:Securities accounts: max.2.85% for the OPCIMaximal management commission: 2.1% of net assetsCost of operating real estate properties to be sustained by the OPCI: 2.2% of net real estate assetsValue of one share: EUR100Liquidity: bi-monthly, with an advance notice for withdrawal of 8 days to 2 months

ING Investment Management has launched an opportunistic fund dedicated to emerging markets debt, which will be co-managed by Rom Drijkoningen and the quantitative strategist Vera Kartseva, Citywire reports. The Emerging Market Debt Opportunities fund offers investors exposure to all instruments and asset subclasses of emerging market debt. According to Drijkoningen, investors in emerging market debt are generally limited to exposure to hard currencies, which is more easily accessible, though the emerging market debt universe represents as much as USD10trn, of which 85% is denominated in local currencies. According to available statistics, investments in emerging markets debt total about USD450bn, of which three quarters are in hard currencies. In other words, 73% of this allocation captures only 6% of the market as a whole.

Unigest on 16 September registered the Unifonds 2014-II, a three-year guaranteed fund, with the CNMV.Until 19 December 2011, the product will be invested in cash, Spanish public debt repos, government bonds, and investment-grade corporate bonds (excluding securitisations) from OECD countries, mortgage securitisations and bonds guaranteed by the Spanish government. Maturity and average duration are not to exceed 3 months, and securities with a mediocre rating may not exceed 25% of assets.The guarantee covers 106.49% of net asset value as f 19 December 2011, which represents a return rate of 3%.CharacteristicsName: Unifond 2014-II FIISIN code: ES0181396005Maturity: 3 February 2014Front-end fee: 5% from 20 December 2011 to 3 February 2014Management commission: 0.95% until 19 December 2011; 1.15% after thatWithdrawal penalty: 1% between 20 December 2011 and 2 February 2014Minimal subscription: EUR300

Matrix Asset Management has appointed Rebecca Ledlie as head of products and marketing, with the objective of deploying the firm’s growth strategy, HedgeWeek reports. Ledlie, who previously worked at Gartmore as head of products, has a profound knowledge of the hedge fund universe, which she acquired largely at her former employer. Matrix has also announced that the Candela Fund, which was previously managed by Olympus Capital LLP, has been taken back in-house at Matric, and has been renamed as the Matrix Pan-European Equity Fund, in “further evidence of the firm’s desire to develop a range of first-class hedge funds,” according to Angus Wollhose, CEO of Matrix AM.

Ten years after its launch, the French asset management firm Sycomore Asset Management, a specialist in euro zone equities, is seeking to diversify its client base, with independent financial advisers and foreign markets.Currently, 90% of the firm’s assets of nearly EUR2bn are managed for institutional investors, mostly French, which also include funds of funds, private banks, and family offices. Pure institutionals, such as pension funds, represent 70% of assets. A 5-member sales team is dedicated to this market.In order to develop IFA clients, the firm launched a flexible fund slightly over a year ago, the Sycomore Allocation Patrimoine fund, managed by Stanislas de Bailliencourt and Emmanual de Sinety, with EUR24m in assets. In addition, the firm has a sales team of 4 people, recruited in 2007-2008, for this segment. The aim is to bring the proportion of assets managed for IFAs up from 10% currently to 50%, says Laurent Deltour, chairman of Sycomore AM.For its international expansion, the management boutique is beginning distribution of its funds in Germany and Switzerland. In order to offer its products in Germany, it is working with Kerstin Fischer, managing director of Fischer Financial, an independent firm. In Switzerland, a partnership with an independent salesperson has also been established. The firm also has some clients in Spain and Italy, where it has a more opportunistic approach.When asked about these developments at a press conference, Deltour declined to offer asset volume objectives, on the grounds that these are too dependent on the markets, which as everyone knows are sometimes capricious. Between January and June, Sycomore AM posted net subscriptions of EUR130m. But since then, nothing. “Investors are paralysed,” Deltour says.The firm’s specialisation in equities and the euro zone are not necessarily easy in the current environment. Emeric Préaubert, a partner at the firm, calls them a “double burden.” But Sycomore AM does not necessarily want to diversify into other asset clases, except in an opportunistic manner, if it has the opportunity to acquire another asset management firm.At any rate, ten years after its foundation, the partners at Sycomore AM say they are satisfied at the point they have reached. They may also congratulate themselves on having remained independent. The structure is 83% owned by its four founding partners, and 6.5% by employees, while the remainder is in the hands of Bernard Arnault and Malakoff Médéric.

BNP Paribas Securities Services on 20 September announced that it has extended its range of collateral management services, to include over-the-counter (OTC) products traded via clearing-houses, as required by new regulations, with the objective of reducing costs and the level of complexity associated with these investments for institutional investors. Institutional investors have always been accustomed to undertaking “normal” over-the-counter operations without the use of a central clearing-house. However, BNP Paribas SS states, the introduction of the Dodd-Frank Act in the United States and the European Markets Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR) in Europe will require the transfer of a large number of OTC operations ot electronic platforms, and the settlement of these transactions through centralised clearing-houses. By allowing real-time visualisation of centrally or bilaterally settled operations, the service from BNP Paribas Securities Services allows institutional investors to manage collateral and risk measurements associated with various counterparties, such as traders, compensators, and central counterparties, and to adapt to changes in the eligibility conditions for securities. According to Hélène Virello, head of collateral management at BNP Paribas Securities Services, “the new regulatory environment, while salutory for clients and for the viability of financial markets, is still a subject of some concern in the sector.” The new regulations will pose problems for market actors who do not have the necessary resources to adapt to some developments. This is where BNP Paribas can help its clients to get a leg up on the competition. “Centralised clearing of OTC derivatives is an activity that may prove difficult. Institutional investors – despite their expertise in OTC products – have never had to clear them centrally,” says Virello, who is also head of independent valuation services for OTC products at the bank.

The French asset management firm Amplégest in early September hired Christine Bourcier as a partner and head of development, a newly-created position. She previously worked in the Key Client Entrepreneur team at UBS, where she had been since 2008. Before that, she had been head of development at CCR Chevrillon Phillippe. At Amplégest, Bourcier will aim to develop the private client base. Amplégest has also recruited Augustin Bloch-Lainé and Saad Benlamine as additions to its collective management unit, headed by Fabrice Revol, manager of the Amplégest Multicaps and Amplégest Enjeux d’avenir funds. Bloch-Lainé joins from Allianz Global Investors, where he had worked in the buy-side analysis team and small and midcaps since 2010. Since 2008, Benlamine had been at Natixis Asset Management, where he was successively an equities analyst (European large caps) and a credit analyst for the banking sector.

Lion Global Investors (LGI) is seeking to dymamise its cross-border fund distribution activities in Asia and other regions, in order to increase economies of scale and enlarge its asset management activities. The Singapore-based asset management firm has selected BNP Paribas Securities Services for the launch of new UCITS-compliant funds. BNP Paribas Securities Services will provide global custody, fund accounting, depository banking and transfer agency services via its single global platform, and customer service based in the region.